Crave Wednesday: Vanilla Rum Custard Sauce

Before Thatkid started camp for the summer, I decided to let him take a couple of days with no school, no camp.  "Camp mom" if you will.  I let him pick the activities we did on those days.  One day he wanted to spend at Legoland.  Which makes sense.  When we go as a family, he doesn't always get to do all the big rides he wants to.  Because Thatbaby doesn't want to go on the big rides.  And the lines are long.  The following week, I kept Thatbaby home from school for his yearly physical and decided that turnabout was fair play, so he got a day at Legoland all to himself also.

One of Thatbaby's favorite rides is the Jungle Safari, which always has a super long line.  But we made it our first ride, before the rest of the park opened, so it wasn't as big a deal to wait.

Meanwhile, on his day, Thatkid rode every roller coaster, speed ride, and ride that Thatbaby is too short for.

They both had a great time on the pirate ride.  Thatbaby even went on it twice.

I let each of them pick a special treat while we were there.  I guess no matter how different they are, they both have a sweet tooth for the same thing.

As for me, this is the perfect season for ice cream.  I don't like it when it's cold outside, and it has been one hot summer.  So hot in fact, that I'm already jonesing for cooler fall weather.  I'm picking out fall wardrobes, and dreaming of chili.  And once that weather hits, ice cream time is over.  Then it's time for those warm, cozy desserts.  The chunky sweater desserts.  Warm, rich sauces over bread puddings and apple pie.  Are you there with me? 

Vanilla Rum Custard Sauce  (From Cooking Light)

2 cups 2% milk

1 vanilla bean, split length wise

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp dark rum

1 tsp butter

1. Place milk and vanilla bean in a large heavy saucepan.  Heat to 180, or until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Let stand 30 minutes.
2. Remove vanilla bean from pan.  
3. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk mixture.  
4. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt, stirring with a whisk. 
5. Add to milk mixture, stirring with a whisk.
6. Add egg yolks to milk mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or until slightly thick.  Remove from heat.
7. Stir in rum and butter, until butter melts.  

Crave Wednesday: Malted Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

It's time for our annual girls' weekend trip!  But this year it was a little different. 

I'll back up.

In March, Horsewhisperer let us all know she was going to be in town for a wedding at the end of June.  The wedding was on a Saturday, so she was going to come in early and wanted to know if we were free the Friday before.  Of course, we all jumped at the chance to spend time with her.  We love her!  We miss her!

We also knew it probably wouldn't be feasible for her to fly out twice in June, so instead of a full weekend, we decided to just do a girls' overnight - spend the whole day Friday with her, and then part ways on Saturday so she could go to her wedding.

We came up with a couple of plans, but ended up deciding on a resort not too far from where her wedding was.

And then life happened.  Life always happens, doesn't it?  Horsewhisperer wasn't going to be able to make it after all.  There was some discussion about changing weekends or locations, but in the end we decided to keep it just as we had planned.

On Friday we all met up at the resort.  As usual we spent a fair amount of time catching up in the hotel room before heading down to the main attraction - the pool!

Jurisslave had brought a stand-in for Horsewhisperer, not a replacement or substitute, because you just can't replace someone like that.  But the new girl was so thankful to be included that she got us all reserved lounge chairs just off the pool.  And like any good group of moms away from their families we took full advantage of just being able to sit.

We also took full advantage of the hot tub, complete with waterfall.

We tried out the "Lazy River" but with water fountains shooting at you, rapids, a waterfall, and a ton of children there wasn't much lazy about it.  So we found our way back to the adults only pool.  Know why it's adults only?  See that palapa? 

Swim up bar!  And we also took advantage of that.

We spent the entire day in the water or beside the water, sipping fruity frozen drinks out of our brand new souvenir tumblers.

Eventually we realized it was getting late, and we were getting hungry, so back up to the room to change.  We headed to dinner and sat around talking more.  It's funny how when you're with some people you never run out of things to talk about - and that's how it always is with us.  After dinner we bid adieu to Jurisslave and her friend and headed back up to the room where we talked some more until we all fell asleep - probably early than we do back home.  Because we're old ladies.

The next morning we parted ways.  I always feel so recharged after our time together, and it is never ever long enough.  I love catching up with some of my closest friends and getting away from the thing that brought us all together originally. 

But this trip was extra not long enough, not enough time, not enough talk, not enough indulgent behavior.  We're all older and less crazy than we were - and none of us were especially crazy to begin with.  I mean, our idea of adventure is a swim up bar! 

Sometimes it doesn't take much to indulge though.  Just a little twist on the ordinary - a day at a nearby resort, or adding peanut butter to chocolate sauce.  Both seems so simple, so obvious, but they're things we just never think to do.  So be like us.  Take the simple and obvious and just go for it.

Malted Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce (From Cooking Light)

1/4 cup chocolate malted milk powder

1 can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place malted milk powder, condensed milk, and chocolate in a medium saucepan.  Cook, stirring constantly over medium-low heat 6 minutes or until smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.  Serve warm.

Crave Wednesday: Brandied Cherry Sauce

On Mother's Day we were very much doing things that I enjoy doing, what with going to see camels and all.  Typically on Father's Day we go to the waterpark, but that's not exactly what Thatboy wants to do.  It just became convenient when Thatbaby was a week old and I couldn't see us spending a whole day at the beach with a newborn.  And a tradition was born.

But this year, he said he wanted to do something "nature-y" "like a hike or something."  So, in the midst of figuring out what I wanted to do for our birthdays, and planning a birthday party, I also started doing some research on local trails.  We've done quite a few which Thatboy has not been impressed with.  And some of the ones I thought he would like would NOT be enjoyable with our children.

But then I came across some reviews for the Santa Margarita River Trail, which stated that it was a nice easy trail, with scenic views as you walked along a river.  It sounded great, and so I forwarded it to Thatboy and asked what he thought.  He gave it a thumbs up.

Father's Day started with our usual trip to the Original Pancake House for breakfast, which is Thatboy's favorite breakfast locale.  And then we picked up some sandwiches and headed off to the trail.

True to the description, it was a lovely trail, under the canopy of trees, which is rare here in San Diego.  Most trails offer little to no shade, but this was shady and cool.  The river provided some nice background noise and some pretty views.

The trail was fairly easy, with only a couple of places where we had to weave through some rock scrambles.    The biggest hazard on the trail was the poison oak which was everywhere.  I had to remind the kids a number of times to stay in the middle of the trail.

The entire trail is about 2.5 miles long.  So we had to take a couple of sitting breaks on the way out, and the way back.

At a certain point, we reached an outcropping of rocks, and the river.  There was no way I was going to try to cross or ford the river to get to the other side, we decided to call this the end of the trail and sit and eat lunch.

Thatboy and Thatkid spent some time playing on the rocks, while I sat with the more cautious and less coordinated Thatbaby eating blueberries.

Heading back wasn't as successful as heading out.  There were some more breaks, and begging of Thatboy to drag them home. 

Thatbaby promptly fell asleep on the car ride home, and I gallantly sat in the car with him while Thatboy and Thatkid went into the house.  Around 4:15, Thatboy came out and asked if we could head to dinner, which woke up Thatbaby.  But then we head to dinner.   We tried a new place not too far from us, and it was fantastic.  We ate and drank, and had far too many desserts. Of course, I forgot to take any pictures.  But I'm sure we'll be back.

But since we're in dessert mode...we've been doing ice cream a lot lately.  I shouldn't say "we" since I'm not a huge ice cream person, but the boys have.  Thatboy has requested having it in the house, and so it's there.  I have been having fun playing with toppings.  We've got leftover chocolate and caramel sauce from Thatbaby's birthday party.  And a bag of cherries in the freezer were just begging to be put on top.  Boiled down with sugar and cherry liquor and it adds a very elegant topping to what could be a rather commonplace dessert.

Brandied Cherry Sauce (From Cooking Light)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup unsweetened grape juice

3 Tbsp kirsch

2 1/2 cup frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed

1/2 cup dried tart cherries

1. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, stirring with a whisk.
2. Add juice and brandy, stirring with a whisk until blended.  
3. Stir in cherries. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.  Cool to room temperature.  

Crave Wednesday: Mixed Berry Coulis

I have officially declared this the "Summer of Berries."   Even though technically it's still spring.  But "Spring of Berries" doesn't have the same ring to it.

First there was the blueberry picking on Mother's Day, then the Strawberry festival.  And last weekend we rounded it out with blackberry picking at Stehly Farms.

Stehly Farms is a 300 acre form in North County San Diego which grows fruits and vegetables that it sells throughout Southern California.

Saturday they opened the blackberry field for a one day event, allowing the public to come pick.  And pick we did.

Thatbaby was not as adept at blackberry picking as he was with blueberries.  We really had to work to convince him to just pick the dark berries.  He was drawn to the redder ones.  And there are more prickly parts of a blackberry bush.

Thatkid made it his mission to find the largest blackberries the patch had to offer.  If they were smaller than his fist, he was not interested.

Needless to say, Thatbaby and I filled up our basket before Thatkid and Thatboy.  We walked away with 3 baskets full of sweet, ripe, blackberries.

In addition to the blackberries, there was also a petting zoo, playground, fire truck, tractor, and miniature horses!

We finished up our time at the farm by going on a hayride - a tractor pulled tour of the grounds.

My biggest problem whenever we pick fruit is that I don't want to use it.  I have a million ideas in my head on how I want to use it, but there's a fear that if I do, they'll be gone.  It's silly, I know.  Because fruit goes bad.  I can't keep it around forever!  I don't actually have any plans for the blackberries yet.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them.  But the blueberries and strawberries have already found good homes.  Like this mixed berry coulis.   Which uses both!  It's fantastic on top of ice cream, brownies, even waffles and pancakes.

Mixed Berry Coulis (From Cooking Light)

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup blueberries

1 cup raspberries

1/3 cup sugar

Juice of half a lemon

1 Tbsp Chambord

1. Combine berries, sugar, and lemon in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until berries soften and sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
2. Place berry mixture in a blender, removing center of blender lid to allow steam to escape (Place towel over the opening to avoid getting it all over your kitchen).  Blend until smooth.
3. Pour pureed mixture through a cheesecloth lined sieve.  Drain well, pressing fruit mixture with the back of a spoon to remove as much liquid as possible.  Discard solids.
4. Stir in Chambord.  Cover and chill 2 hours. 

Repurposing Thanksgiving leftovers

The only difficulty with having Thanksgiving at Thatmom's house is the lack of leftovers to play with. Usually there's enough for "second Thanksgiving" the next night, but that's pretty much it. And leftovers are never fun when you're eating them the exact way as the night before.

Luckily a lack of leftovers on my part doesn't stop me from sharing some great ideas with you. Because while I don't have leftovers from Thanksgiving, I do have the raw ingredients that many of you may have used in your own Thanksgiving feasts - namely, sweet potatoes and cranberries.

I've been using fresh cranberries a lot this year - ever since they showed up at the market. Mainly because last year I started getting cranberry antsy about a month or so after they had disappeared and so I've been storing up some good ideas since then. I made my own cranberry relish a few days before Thanksgiving. Between that and the cranberry butter, I had some leftovers in the bag which I felt would make an excellent topping for chicken. Reduced down to a thick and chunky chutney, this would work equally well over pork or turkey.

Cranberry Chutney
3/4 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh cranberries

1. Combine the water, brown sugar, vinegar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved
2. Add in cranberries and cook slowly about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the cranberry skins pop and the mixture thickens.
3. Serve over chicken, pork, turkey, or use in a sandwich!

This year the sweet potatoes at our table were replaced with delicious butternut squash. But that might not be the case at your house. In years past there has been a bowl filled with baked potatoes - both of the regular and sweet variety. And there are always some leftover. Mashed potatoes are a great way to use up leftover baked potatoes, but these are so great and seasonal you may not want to wait until you have leftovers. Growing up, Thatdad would make squash with brown sugar and cinnamon, so the use of sweet additions to the mashed potatoes isn't too much of a shock. The maple and brown sugar make the sweet potatoes even sweeter, and there's something so perfect about maple syrup this time of year.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 lb baked sweet potatoes OR
1 lb raw sweet potatoes cut into chunks, 1 cup apple cider, and 1 cup water
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp brown sugar

1. If using baked sweet potatoes, scoop out the insides and place in a saucepan.
2. If using raw sweet potatoes, combine the chunks, cider, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Drain and return to saucepan. Use the back of a fork to mash the potatoes.
3. Reheat potatoes over a low heat and add the butter, maple syrup, and brown sugar.
   

Missed out on my beets!

Let today serve as a lesson to everyone. I went down to the farmer's market and saw some beautiful beets. I know they are fantastic, because I picked them up 2 weeks ago and used them in just about everything.

Making a mental note to return for the beets, I headed to pick up a quick lunch. On my way back the beets were gone. GONE! Sold out. Not a one left. I was so sad. Next week the beet lady will be my first stop.

Instead I picked up some more mandarins for my ever dwindling supply. How is it that even though I am constantly buying them they always seem to disappear. More tomatoes (you're not really surprised are you?) and some green peppers. My egg guy wasn't there this week, which is a little sad since I love buying my eggs at the market, watching him go through each dozen to find me the "best" one.

I have plans for all those produce, but of course, none will be featured tonight. I have to keep you guys coming back, don't I? I know right now you're sitting on the edge of your seats just wondering what tomato dish I can screw up next. Many of you will toss and turn tonight over my disappearing citrus dilemma. I get it, it's slow on television right now. Although, tonight marks the return of new Vampire Diaries AND America's Best Dance Crew, so Thathouse is full of happiness.

Happiness and mushrooms. Normally the two of those together lead to far different connotations. And one day I'll tell you the story about my crazy dream that involved mushrooms and the Beatles. Well, nevermind because that's pretty much the dream right there. I guess I'm not so good at previews.

Tonight I'm presenting a dish that uses a lot of mushrooms, in a sauce that coats a flavorful ground beef. So much better than your average meatloaf. I served them aside some mushrooms and peas, just in case the sauce wasn't mushroomy enough for you.

Cannelon of Beef (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
2 lbs ground beef
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1 egg
2 Tbsp minced onion
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
4 slices salt pork
Mushroom Sauce (recipe to follow)

1. Preheat oven to 400. Combine the beef, lemon rind, parley, egg, onion, melted butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix until very well blended. Chill and then shape into a roll.
2. Place on rack in roasting pan, arrange slices of salt pork over the top and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Serve with mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Sauce (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 lbs mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp flour
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup heavy cream
salt to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Stir in the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes until they darken a little.
2. Stir in the flour, blend to smooth, and cook 2 minutes.
3. Slowly stir in lemon juice, cream, and salt, and cook until hot.
   

The holidays are over

You know how I can tell? Because right about now I am ready for turkey again. Usually by the time the new year rolls around I'm pretty sick of turkey - between all the winter holidays, I get my fill. And yet, right about now, turkey dripping in gravy sounds oh so good.

And there's the rub people. Turkey dripping in gravy is a little time consuming and freezer filling for this early in the year. Especially when we've actually been using the weekends to catch up with friends. It's not like I'm going to roast a turkey for a weeknight dinner because that would mean leaving a bird roasting in our oven while I'm at work, and I love Thatdog too much to worry about him jumping through hoops of fire.

Which means when I want turkey, I'm reduced to making a breast, or tenderloins, or the stuff from my friendly neighborhood deli man (because he can slice it for me SO much thinner than I could ever hope to do myself). And making a breast, or tenderloins, or the stuff from the deli man means there aren't glorious turkey drippings for gravy. Can you hear me crying out there in blogland?

So I had to suck it up (a phrase I learned from my colorguard coach in high school - nice, right?) and make do with non-turkey gravy. BUT it's always helpful to know how to make gravy for topping beef, turkey, chicken, or even an openfaced sandwich on cheddar jalapeno bread*. So I thought I'd share with you this easy solution for gravy without the bird/beast. You can keep it in your freezer for the next time you get your turkey craving. Or just whip it up, like I did whenever the mood strikes you.

Instant Gravy (from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

2 Tbsp minced onion

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

1/4 cup dry red wine or vermouth (I use the red wine for beef and the vermouth for poultry)

1 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth (I use the beef broth for beef and.....forget it, you'll figure it out)

1) Saute onions in butter until translucent.

2) Stir in flour, cooking and stirring until light brown.

3) Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup wine/vermouth and 1/4 cup broth. Stir until smooth.

4) Return to heat and add remaining broth, stirring constantly.

5) Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring.

6) Add salt and pepper to taste.

*If you are going to use your gravy on an openfaced sandwich I highly recommend heating it up and warming your turkey/chicken/beef in the hot gravy before putting it on your cheddar jalapeno bread and pouring the gravy over top. It's better that way. Trust me.